Valentine's - T House Tagaytay

We spent last Valentine's at T House in Tagaytay. T House is a quaint B&B nestled in the chilly ridge of Tagaytay. Small as it maybe, it has almost everything you need for a quick weekend getaway from the city. It has 15 rooms that has that modern, minimalist vibe. It has its own pool. It has its own spa. And most importantly, it has its own restaurant that serves great food. We spent our whole stay enjoying the place! It didn't even cross our mind to go out and roam around Tagaytay.

Before we discuss the food, let us show you the different facilities they have. After our dinner, we tried their full body massage spa for an hour which was inclusive with our meal package. It was definitely a relaxing experience since we were already planning  to sleep right after. The spa place is located in a long room with only curtains as their dividers, but we didn't mind this because the ambiance was very tranquil (except for the snoring customer on the other bed, haha!)

Their pool and jacuzzi are perhaps the coldest ones we've encountered in our life! We tried to swim during the next day but I only managed to swim for a couple of minutes while Kim, although in her swimsuit, just took photos and videos because she refuses to swim in the icy cold water, haha!

Now on to the food!

For dinner, they had this 4 course dinner for couples spending their Valentine's weekend there.

Our beverage was what they call April's Mint which is basically a minty (with actual shredded mint leaves) soda.

 

The appetizer was Battered Garden Mix Vegetable in Creamy Teriyaki Mayo Sauce.

This was just okay. The greens were fresh, but the batter and taste wasn't anything special.

We were then served soup, Pistou with Basil Oil.

Since it was really chilly that evening, we gobbled this down quickly! It sort of tasted like pesto, only more garlicky.

The mains were Pan Fry Fish Fillet, Mashed Potato in Prawn Bisque Sauce, and the other one was Tenderloin Beef Medallion, Mesclun Salad With Mint Chutney.

Kim had the Fish Fillet which was fried nicely, but the Prawn Sauce was a little too rich for her.

I had the Tenderloin Beef which was seasoned well but was a tad bit  overcooked for my taste.

 

 

Dessert was Honeyed Pears in Puff Pastry Walnut Crumble, Ganache Sauce.

This actually tasted good. A little to sweet, but a great dessert to finish off the dinner.

We also had breakfast the next day. They served us with a variety of complimentary bread with butter and mango jam on the side. Kim had the American Breakfast while I had the Longganisa.

Both servings were really big. It was definitely a good starter for our day!

And oh by the way, they also gave us  a complimentary cupcake when we checked out that their cook personally made. How sweet! :)

So if you just want to have a break from the busy whatnots of your everyday life, you might as well consider getting a reservation at T House, Tagaytay (just don't expect the pool to be warm in anytime of the day! Haha!).

 

T House

3195 Calamba Road, Tagaytay City

http://thousetagaytay.com/

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Green ATS

This will be our first post in a while since I dislocated my shoulder last December.

We celebrated Valentine's in Tagaytay and we stayed at the T House. But that will be for another post, as this post will be about our post Valentine's lunch last Saturday at Green ATS, also in Tagaytay.

*Some of the pictures are in night time (during our first visit) because Kim forgot to take some pictures in our recent visit because as usual her hunger got in the way. :/

View from our seats

There are a lot of places in Tagaytay that serves bulalo, some on the affordable side and some on the higher end of the price spectrum. Green ATS falls under the former.  Green ATS also is a little further than most of the restaurants in Tagaytay. So, why travel further just for some bulalo which can be found in other restaurants too? Simple. Bulalo with Fillings.

Bulalo with what? Bulalo with Fillings. 470php.

This is Green ATS specialty and take on the popular beef soup that Pinoys love to sip on during cold weather. They still have the normal bulalo on their menu, but when you dine here, you have to try this! We promise, you won't regret it.  Well, your heart probably won't but hey we're only young once! So what's so different with this bulalo? For starters, it has "fillings." There's chopped up greens, onions, tomatoes and mushrooms with it. Okay, so it might have a little extra to it other than the normal lettuce but what makes it really special is that the beef shank is deep fried! Yes deep fried! So this makes a little more deadlier than your normal garden variety bulalo but also makes it that much more special. The deep fried shank and it's fillings are served separately from the broth. The beef was so tender that it almost melts in your mouth! It is also seasoned perfectly. The broth was very flavorful since the beef shank was cooked in it until the fat has melted into it. And of course the bone marrow! No bulalo would be complete without bone marrow. It's sinful but it's also the single most flavorful and richest part of this dish. Best to eat it with rice while the soup is still piping hot.

We also ordered Crispy Tawilis. 150php.

Tawilis is a freshwater fish native to the Taal Lake. They are small but they pack flavor. The saltiness of it is a perfect complement to the richness of the bulalo. It also can be perfectly eaten on its own, together with steamed rice and dipped in white vinegar.

Green ATS provides a great view of the Taal Lake, and also very good food at affordable prices. It might be a little further down the road than most restaurants, but since you've already made the trip to Tagaytay what's a few more kilometers?

Green ATS
Tagaytay - Nasugbu Highway, Tagaytay City
(It is after Taal Vista and right before Breakfast at Antonio's.)

Sky Ranch + RSM Lutong Bahay

June 22, 2013. Saturday.

Impromptu road trips are always fun. And this post is born out of an impromptu road trip one drizzling Saturday. What was supposed to be just a quick drive to Nuvali to check out the outlets there, made it all the way to Tagaytay. Once we were up in the foggy and wet weather of Tagaytay, we decided to go all the way out to the Sky Ranch.

 

Sky Ranch is a new amusement/ entertainment complex just right beside Taal Vista. And it houses the Sky Eye, which is the tallest ferris wheel in the country at 207 feet high. There are also other rides inside the park, but we just chose to ride the Sky Eye since it was the main attraction and riding everything would be costly. Entrance alone to the park was 100php per person, and the ferris wheel was at 150php per person.

Like the MOA Eye, each gondola of the Sky Eye was air-conditioned. It was already breezy outside, and it was certainly cold inside. But maybe the air-conditioning was put there for those who would want to ride during the hotter days. Since it was foggy outside, the view was limited but it was still a great one as you are able to see the Taal Lake and neghboring establishments from up high. I imagined the view would've been more spectacular had it been a clear day.

After riding the Sky Eye and walking around the still unfinished park (it looks like they're still adding more attractions in the future, including a zipline over the ridge), we decided to look for a place to get dinner. Kim wanted to try the sizzling bulalo of Green ATS, but I didn't want to drive all the way out there on wet, and poorly lit roads, so we settled for RSM Lutong Bahay since all other places looked packed.

We ordered the following:

Inihaw na Liempo

I don't know why we ordered this since this is a dish you could get just about anywhere, but it seemed a good idea at the time. Anything inihaw always goes well with al fresco dining.

Ginataang Kuhol

Kuhol is escargot for the more culutured (haha!). I love this dish and since this isn't available in most restaurants, I always make sure to order this when I see it on a menu. The kuhol was still a little sandy, I think it wasn't washed and rinsed enough but other than that it was really something we enjoyed. This was great with the steamed rice.

Sizzling Bulalo

This is what Kim was looking forward to. We were a little disappointed since what they offered was more akin to Bulalo Ala Pobre, but once we tasted it our dismay was alleviated a bit. The beef was really tender and went well with the gravy on top. Despite it being a good dish, we will still make time to go all the way to Green ATS for their genuine Sizzling Bulalo.

RSM Lutong Bahay
Tagaytay Nasugbu Highway,
Tagaytay City, Cavite
http://www.rsmlutongbahay.com/